Letter to the Lynbrook, East Rockaway Editor (Sept. 13—19)

Posted
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 12:55 pm

Help support our wounded warriors

To the Editor,

About a week ago, I received a mailing from a Jacksonville, Fla., address publicizing the “2018 Lynbrook-area fund drive for wounded warriors.” This is at least the third year in a row that I and other Lynbrook residents have received this mailing from the Wounded Warrior Project, a national organization, just weeks before the Lynbrook Fire Department’s annual fundraiser for the unaffiliated Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior, which is scheduled for Sept. 22.

Because of this mailing, I have received calls each year asking if this so-called “Lynbrook-area fund drive,” which is not sanctioned or approved by the village or any other organization or veterans group, is part of the Fire Department’s fundraising. It is not.

The Lynbrook Fire Department is part of Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior, a 501(c)(3) charity formed by firefighters in 2004 to help our wounded warriors on Long Island and in military hospitals. This is the eighth year the LFD has held a concert and block party to help support NCFF-OWW and their efforts to help wounded servicemen and women.

We are volunteer firefighters volunteering to help our wounded warriors. We do not get paid for our work, in contrast to the Wounded Warrior Project, which has had negative news stories about its finances and salaries.

The LFD concert and block party starts at 5 p.m. on Sept. 22, in front of the Earle Avenue firehouse, between Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway. It is scheduled to run until 11 p.m. We are accepting donations of $20. Entrance includes food, and there will also be many prizes and raffles, such as JetBlue tickets.

Before the concert, the LFD is hosting a motorcycle run from the Earle Avenue parking field to Captree State Park at 2 p.m. The riders will return in time to attend the concert.

A number of wounded veterans and their families will be traveling from Bethesda Hospital, in Maryland, and Fort Belvoir, Va., to attend the concert and thank attendees for their support.

For more information on the motorcycle run, contact Patrick Curran at (516) 805-6286. For more information on the concert and block party, contact Kevin Bien at (516) 993-6074.